It is conventional to ship wire or cable wound on reels. After unwinding the wire or cable from the reel, the reel is typically returned or disposed of. The basic structure of the assembled reels includes a cylindrical barrel about which the wire or cable is wound and a pair of end flanges extending transversely from the ends of the barrel to retain the wound wire or cable on the barrel. The reels are mounted for rotation about an axis extending to the center of the cylindrical barrel and the end flanges, so that the wire or cable unwinds from the reel assembly as the reel is rotated. Examples of a modular reel construction are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 1,905,488 and U.S. Pat. No. 1,972,572 both to Nack. The reel construction of the Nack patents includes a barrel assembly with separately attachable flange sections, which are bolted to the surface of the barrel. Each flange is formed from a series of sections bolted together along radially extending struts. The ends of the barrel are closed by an annular ring having a recessed wall. Reinforcement barbs may be attached across the rim and support the barrel wall and the assembled flange portions.
Another knockdown reel construction is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,242,129 to Bailey. The reel construction of Bailey includes a flange assembly formed by a series of segments that are inserted into sockets formed on the ends of the barrel. The flange segments are joined to one another and a retaining ring is positioned within a groove on the end of the assembled flange segments.
A further knockdown reel assembly is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,352,216 to Coats. That reel has a barrel assembly with bolts projecting from the axial ends of the barrel. Flange segments are secured to the extending bolts for forming the flange construction.
A knockdown reel assembly is also shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,806,788 to Witwer. Witwer's device includes a pair of separate barrel segments which are assembled to form a hollow cylindrical barrel. The barrel segments have an inwardly extending bead that locks separate end flange portions to opposite ends of the barrel. The end flanges have a two-piece construction that includes a hub secured to a skirt. The hub has a lip for engaging the beads of the barrel segments when the reel is assembled.